21 teams for TNB Sarawak League
KUCHING: A total of 21 teams are in the fray for the TNB Sarawak Hockey League which started last weekend.
The league is divided into the Men’s Open, Women’s Open and U16 Boys.
The U16 Girls was incorporated into the Women’s draw which finally saw five teams entered.
It is rather perturbing for a sector of the game that has been a frequent contributor to the Malaysian team.
The five teams are SMK Bako, KHA, Paku-Batu Lintang, SMK Tebakang and late entrant All Div.
In the Men’s Open, 11 teams have entered and are drawn into two groups.
Group A consists of defending champion UNIXX, Eleven Warrior, MatHoc, Batu Lintang HC and One XOX.
Last year’s surprise finalists Belia Git HC is in Group B.
Also in Group B are the always strong Warrior HC and Muara Tuang Old Boys( MTOB).
The newly registered Kuching Hockey Association is also in the group.
The other teams are dark horse Borneo Young Blood and Sarawak Energy Berhad.
The U16 Boys draw comprises Sakura, SMK Bako, Paku Jr, SMK Tebakang and Excalibur.
Paku, Tebakang and Excalibur should be the top teams but Sakura and Bako are capable of springing surprises.
The Men’s Open is the most intriguing as there are several teams in contention.
UNIXX, helmed by Bukit Jal i l graduate Cristnal l M Jieng, is rated as having a good chance of making the play- offs along with Army side Eleven Warrior( EW).
However, their stock dropped when they lost their opener 2- 3 to One XOX.
EW stamped their class with a 12- 0 pounding of MatHoc while XOX also blitzed BLHC 12- 0.
Belia Git have only a slim chance of advancing as they are deemed to be too reliant on former national player Dangerous Lee Mathew.
It was Dangerous who carried them into last year’s final with a strong play- off run.
Warrior is always a contender as is KHA, formerly KHC.
The Women’s Open and U16 Boys will start play this weekend.
Saturday will see SMK Bako and SMK Tebakang clash at 8 am with Sakura playing Paku Jr at 9.30am at the Sarawak Hockey Stadium.
In the Women’s draw, SMK Bako wi l l play KHA at 3 pm while PBL take on Tebakang at 4.30pm.
Sunday’s fixtures will see Excalibur play Bako at 8 am with Tebakang facing Sakura at 9.30am.
The afternoon will see MTOB meeting Belia Git at 3pm.
UNIXX wi l l be looking for redemption when they play MatHoc at 4.30pm.